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As the first strains of that unmistakeable lugubrious voice rang out around Hammersmith Palais a cheer went up that was not matched for the rest of the evening.
The only possible exception was for Elvis Costello's masterpiece, "Shipbuilding," popularised by Robert Wyatt, but never surpassed in the writer's own interpretation of the warfare and poverty trap. For that song, performed strangely without brass, the audience roared its approval, but was subdued for the rest of the gig.
Technically, Elvis was superb. The brass, the back-ups, the rich but venomous delivery were all there, even though some of the arrangements seemed a little peculiar, tailing off half way through numbers — especially on "Mystery Dance" where the man seemed to forget his own lyrics momentarily.
But, for the most part, the audience seemed confused by the number of tempo changes Elvis insisted on, and as yet another rock 'n' roll number blasted the silence left by its bluesy predecessor, the audience voted with its feet — and didn't dance.
The evening was, in a way, typical of Elvis' brave approach. After his brilliant debut he went through a lean period, emerging only recently with the excellent Punch The Clock LP. Now, unwilling to ditch his less commercially successful songs, he refused to do a greatest hits set. Good on him — he's got the talent and charisma to get away with it.
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